The critics are shortsighted

Sep 24, 2008 Features / Columnists

Guyana’s hesitation and reluctance to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement continues to be a major talking point at home and in some sections of the Caribbean that it has attracted speculation.

The critics are now holding on to the contention that Guyana should have raised its objections before the actual completion of the agreement.

The Europeans came to the table with their proposals and an intention to get everything that they wanted.
They were tough negotiators and they were bent on getting everything that they came for.

The negotiations were such that the region was being dictated to and the regional negotiators had to wring whatever concessions they got from the Europeans.

They wanted to get regional performers to be a part of the agreement and after a tough round, got that.
Every product that the Europeans wanted included in the trade agreement they got, and while the region by no stretch of imagination could have the amount of products that the other side has, the Caribbean negotiators had to really hammer away at the people at the other side of the table.

Guyana selected its representatives to join with the others in the region. And indeed the government saw the draft agreement but it was in no position to challenge the draft because the government firmly believed that at the end of the negotiations, the situation would have been to everyone’s satisfaction.

There would have been the objections and there would have been the compromises. Everyone would have walked away happy.

The end result was that the Europeans came with a firm position and did not budge, except to expand the range of those things that the region demanded be on their side of the agreement.

The negotiations were tough and having secured some of the things that they set out to, everyone was happy that they came away with most of what they demanded.

However, after the euphoria of securing (begging for) certain inclusions and concessions reality set in, because there was the final agreement to be examined. Guyana has always maintained that it must get the best for its people.

The government had no say when the Europeans unilaterally cut the price they paid for sugar and being the largest sugar producer within Caricom, Guyana suffered. The losses were astronomical.

This time around, there was some time to study the final agreement and to reflect on the negatives and positives. In the cool and quiet of the office, the numerous flaws surfaced and it is now common knowledge that Guyana has objections.

People should not blame the government for having people with brains to understand the economic ramifications.

Those who now say that Guyana had ample time to voice objections fail to understand that Guyana was not negotiating on its own, that others in the region were doing the same.

Guyana did not even have the lead role at the negotiating table so whatever objections were raised would have been glossed over under the pretext that the whole was greater than the individual parts.

Today, the country is finding that it stands to lose more than the other countries simply because it has more resources than the others, and because it offers more investment opportunities, largely because of its mass and its relatively cheap labour force.

To compound the issue, the Europeans have the advantage of capitalizing on the South American markets that Guyana offers through its link with Brazil and the other countries.

Brazil alone offers mouth watering options to any European. And so it is that Guyana recognizes the flaws in the Economic Partnership Agreement.

It is not that the other countries in the region are not in agreement with Guyana. Rather, it is that they fear another round of prolonged negotiations and the likelihood of the Europeans making even more demands to the detriment of the region. They have come to the conclusion that half of a loaf is better than none.

The silence that now prevails in other quarters is testimony to the fact that the people have come to realize that Guyana has a strong case.

The local critics could not care less and they are the ones who would, when the harsh reality of the agreement sets in, blame the government for whatever fallout there will be.

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The critics are shortsighted

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